Wisconsin Badgers | |
---|---|
University | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Conference | Big Ten |
NCAA | Division I/FBS |
Athletic director | Barry Alvarez |
Location | Madison, Wisconsin |
Varsity teams | 23 |
Football stadium | Camp Randall Stadium |
Basketball arena | Kohl Center |
Ice hockey arena |
Kohl Center (men) LaBahn Arena (women) |
Other arenas | UW Field House |
Mascot | Bucky Badger |
Nickname | Badgers |
Fight song | On, Wisconsin! |
Colors | Cardinal and White |
Website | www |
The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sub-level), primarily competing in the Big Ten Conference for all sports since the 1896–97 season. Men's sports include basketball, cross country, football, golf, ice hockey, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and wrestling, while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, rowing, lightweight rowing, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball. The women's ice hockey team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), while the men's and lightweight women's crew team compete in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC).
The athletic director is Barry Alvarez, former head coach of the football team. The Badgers team colors are cardinal and white, and the team mascot is named "Buckingham U. Badger," known as "Bucky Badger." The Badgers have several major on-campus facilities, including Camp Randall Stadium, the UW Field House, and the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin was dubbed the "Badger State" because of the lead miners who first settled there in the 1820s and 1830s. Without shelter in the winter, they had to "live like badgers" in tunnels burrowed into hillsides.
The badger mascot was adopted by the University of Wisconsin in 1889. His name, "Buckingham U. Badger", a.k.a. "Bucky Badger," was chosen in a contest in 1949. The emblem, a scowling, strutting badger wearing a cardinal-and-white striped sweater, was designed by Art Evans in 1940 and updated in 2003. A live badger from Eau Claire was used at the first few football games that year, but proved to be too fierce to be controlled and was retired to the nearby Henry Vilas Zoo. For a time, the school replaced the live badger with a live raccoon named "Regdab" ("badger" backwards). In 2006, Bucky Badger became a charter member of the Mascot Hall of Fame's College Division.